On a number of occasions we tested CPU coolers with originally shaped heatsinks, highlighted fans and otherwise eye-catching designs. However, such models are generally lacking in their main function which is to cool the CPU effectively at a comfortable level of noise. Trying to distinguish their product from those of other makers, designers are prone to apply solutions that are not compatible with high efficiency and low noise. They often come up with a gaudy and shimmering thing that is more expensive than simple and homely products but inferior to them in cooling performance.

There are a few lucky exceptions, though. We can recall the recently tested AMA Phantom, the Stormblazer, and the batman cooler called AVC ESP Integrating. Thus, uniqueness and efficiency can indeed go together hand in hand sometimes. In this review I am going to show you another two beautiful coolers: Thermaltake SpinQ VT and Xigmatek Balder SD1283. Both brands should already be familiar to you as they offer a wide range of air coolers of different design and price. I don’t think that such serious companies would release a good-looking cooler that lacks in performance, yet I am going to check this out anyway.

Thermaltake SpinQ VT (CLP0554)

This cooler comes in a medium-sized cardboard box painted mostly black. There is a photo of the cooler on the face side. You can read the product features and specs from the other sides of the box.

At the top of the packaging there is a small box with accessories including two pairs of fasteners with plastic locks for installing the cooler on Intel processors, a locking clip for AMD processors, screws, Thermaltake thermal compound, and an installation guide.

The cooler sits in a plastic tray that protects it well against any possible hazards during transportation. Thermaltake SpinQ VT is manufactured in China and comes at a recommended price of $59.90.

The word SpinQ comes from the slogan “Spin your world, Quiet down your PC” and the VT abbreviation seems to mean Vertical because the SpinQ VT is an ordinary SpinQ with the heatsink and fan oriented vertically.

Thus, Thermaltake SpinQ VT is a tower cooler, but this “tower” looks more authentic than with other coolers. It is cylindrical and hollow and resembles a real medieval tower with its outline.

There are 50 angular aluminum rings hanging on three 6mm copper heat pipes that go through a copper base. The angles of these rings are shifted relatively to each other, forming some sort of a spiral.

The cooler measures Ø120.1 x 159 millimeters and its weight is just 5 grams short of half a kilo. The heatsink plates are 0.3 millimeters thick and placed 1.7 millimeters apart from each other.

The cooler is indeed very light and even somewhat elegant.

Taking this view of the cooler, you may wonder why there are no heatsink plates along the 2-centimeter stretch of the heatpipes at the bottom of the cooler. There is enough space between the base and the bottommost plate and the pipes are straight in this section, so 15 or even 20 plates more would be appropriate. I guess that this is due to the size of the fan installed inside the heatsink. Thermaltake (Everflow) must have just failed to find a larger fan. It is a shame since the extra heatsink fins in the bottom part of the cooler would have increased its heat dissipation area and improved its performance some more.